Author Archives: Joe McDonald

About the Author

Joe McDonald has been photographing wildlife and nature for over forty years, and has been a full-time professional since 1983. He has been published in every major North American nature publication and is represented by several stock agencies. With his wife Mary Ann, Joe teaches photography and digital workshops from his home in central Pennsylvania. Additionally, he and his wife spend at least 50% of an average year traveling, leading photo tours and safaris for photographers. Joe is a master of electronic flash, and regularly incorporates flash into his high-speed action work. That, and capturing defining moments, such as action or a telling portrait, is his photography specialty. His favorite location for photography is the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, and Joe has had seven BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners from this region. In 2009 this duo completed their 50th mountain gorilla trek in Rwanda. Visit his website at: www.hoothollow.com.

Last year I attended the annual NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) summit where one of the breakout sessions was concerned with “The Ethics of Subject Welfare: Animals, People, and the Land.” If you’ve ever been to a NANPA summit you know that there is an a...

I travel a lot as a wildlife photographer and to me there’s no place like Africa for the absolute best in wildlife photography. Indeed, Africa gets in your blood, not as a malarial parasite but as a burning obsession, because for most, one visit simply isn’t enough. Most folks, befor...

On the last day of our six week high-speed flash hummingbird photography shoots in southern Arizona, I shot 20 gigabytes of these marvelous birds in flight. We were leaving the next day for the three day drive back home to Pennsylvania, and I was busy packing the truck with the assorted flashes,...

Do no harm. While that credo applies to medicine, nature photographers should also follow it equally faithfully as the welfare of our subjects should be the most important aspect in any photographic interaction.